1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to current clamp circuits, and more particularly to a current clamp circuit based on BCD technology.
2. Description of Related Art
BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) refers to a kind of process engineering related to monolithic integration. First introduced in 1986 by STMicroelectronics (ST), this technology allows bipolar CMOS and DMOS devices to be incorporated in one chip and has been extensively used for the development of high-voltage, high-current products. In high-current applications, if a short circuit happens, an uncontrolled, high current may pass through the chip and the heat generated by the excessive power consumption under the high-voltage, high-current condition tends to damage the circuit. This risk makes a current clamp circuit a necessity for high-voltage, high-current products. A current clamp protects a chip by limiting the output current on the event of a short circuit or abnormal current increase.
In view that there is not a current clamp circuit designed for BCD technology, the inventor has made in-depth research, and herein provides a current clamp circuit based on BCD technology.